Ryan Murphy Defends ‘American Love Story’ Amid Critiques of JFK Jr. Photos

The first photos of Ryan Murphy‘s adjacent bid “American Love Story” person generated controversy, a afloat 7 months before its February 2026 premiere day — and Murphy is hitting back. The first installment of nan caller imaginable franchise — which comes aft nan occurrence of nan respectively American “Horror, “Crime,” and “Sports” stories — will screen nan tabloid-favorite ’90s narration of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The mates died successful 1999 erstwhile a level Kennedy was piloting crashed. The photograph series, featuring Paul Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon successful characteristic arsenic Kennedy and Bessette, was posted to Instagram June 13, setting disconnected a week-long firestorm of heated net and think-piece debate.

In a June 16 “The Cut” piece, writer Danya Issawi criticized nan style choices for Kennedy and Bessette. “These do not look to beryllium nan understated, tailored, and soft-yet-structured Calvin Klein, Prada, and Yohji Yamamoto garments Bessette-Kennedy wore successful nan ’90s, nor are they reminiscent of them,” Issawi wrote, taking circumstantial rumor pinch nan manner items looking for illustration “modern-day replicas of their ’90s counterparts.” In an question and reply pinch Vogue, Bessette’s hairsbreadth colorist Brad Johns piled on, “No 1 would judge that Carolyn successful nan ’90s would ever person that colour from me. It’s excessively 2024.”

“Why didn’t Vogue telephone america and ask, ‘Let’s talk astir your decisions. What are your reference photos?'” Murphy said successful response. “It’s absorbing because Vogue called respective times pinch liking successful covering nan show, but 1 of nan first things they constitute is this without moreover checking pinch our us?” Murphy besides told Variety that respective of nan pieces successful nan photograph were not final. He called nan harsh critiques “not fair,” drafting a comparison to really tabloid civilization treated nan real-life Bessette successful nan ’90s.

“We’re penning a communicative astir a personification – an chartless personification – who falls successful emotion pinch nan astir celebrated man successful nan world and abruptly she can’t time off her house. She was perpetually being photographed, being called a cunt by nan paparazzi,” Murphy explained.

Joining successful nan captious chorus was existent Kennedy Jack Schlossberg (here’s a family character for those curious), who said nan family was not progressive successful nan production.

“See, nan correct to privateness — which includes nan expertise to power your ain name, image, and likeness — doesn’t past decease successful nan authorities of New York, and for that matter, he’s considered a nationalist figure,” Scholssberg said in an Instagram video. “So, there’s not overmuch we tin do. But I dream those making these shows return earnestly what he stood for successful his life, each that he achieved successful it. And that they donate immoderate of nan profits to what they’re making to nan John F. Kennedy Library. For nan record, I deliberation admiration for my Uncle John is great. What I don’t deliberation is awesome is profiting disconnected of it successful a grotesque way.”

Also for nan record, Murphy said he would donate to nan John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. He besides added that he was a instrumentality of Schlossberg’s Instagram videos “when he conscionable articulator syncs to ’90s woman groups stuff. I want much of that. But I deliberation it would beryllium really difficult if your relatives are ever successful nan media.”

Murphy’s bid are no alien to controversy. Both “Monsters” seasons, each of which tackled existent life murderers, ignited heated debates. One of those subjects, Erik Menendez, moreover an issued a connection himself criticizing nan show. “I deliberation it’s absorbing that he’s issued a connection without having seen nan show.” Murphy told Entertainment Tonight astatine nan clip — a quote he seems to beryllium echo successful nan Kennedy-Bessette brouhaha.

“If I ever do thing for illustration that again, I person to put a informing explanation connected nan apical of nan caption, explaining to group what nan process is,” he concluded successful nan Variety interview.